Fatherhood
by Story Writing Guy
Summary: *Sequel to To Hell and Back* After John Camon escapes prison, with the help of a certain villain, he struggles to figure out what he should do about Bubbles and Boomer. It wouldn't be so hard if he didn't care so much about them.
1. Long Time No See

**Yeah, that's right, I'm writing a sequel to To Hell and Back! This story has a good amount of potential, but let's just hope I don't waste it. Oh, and sorry I haven't uploaded anything in a while.**

Gray was all I could see as I stared at the cold, hard wall. Its horrid condition matched exactly how I was feeling. I sat, motionlessly, in an uncomfortably small room. The walls were scratched with paint peeling off, the bed was ripped into practically nothing, and one of the bars on the armored door confining me in this place was bent. The room was terrible, but did anyone care? No. I was nothing but a filthy criminal to them, and they didn't care how bad my living conditions were. Then again, how could I blame them? I caused nothing but trouble for the world.

Turning my head, I looked at a mirror one of the guards had tossed in here with me, for the sake of "letting me see what a monster I am." It had been nearly a year since I transformed with Chemical X, and I was still in this monstrous form. They tried to find a way to fix me, but the substance was a part of me now. It couldn't be removed...at least not without killing me. Sighing, my thoughts soon turned to two familiar faces. _My ki-...um...Bubbles and Boomer... _I thought, and even corrected myself. They weren't mine...no matter how much I wanted them to be. Though...that didn't stop me from missing them. Not long after I was put in this place, I felt an uncontrollable urge to see them. To hold them, and make them feel safe...but no. They hate me...

"Hey, you. Over here," A voice said. After a moment, I reluctantly stood and looked through the small window of bars on the door. I saw what looked like a green monkey with a cape, in the cell in front of mine. Then I remembered that he was arrested about three days ago. I stared at him, waiting for him to speak. "Let me guess, you were placed in this prison by none other than the Powerpuff Girls, am I correct?" I nearly twitched at his reference to them. When I heard their name, I thought of Blossom and Buttercup. Two of the people who refused to let me have Bubbles and Boomer.

"No..." I said. Technically, it wasn't them who put me here. I surrendered, but I was starting to regret it.

"Oh...well, it is obvious that you do not favor the conditions of this establishment, right?" I didn't say anything. I really did hate prison life, but I didn't know exactly where he was going with this conversation. He must have taken my silence as a yes. "What if I told you I had the ability to remove you from this place?" My ears perked up as I continued to listen to him, but by the smirk on his face I could tell that he wasn't going to help me for free. "I will get you out of here, and in return you must assist me in my plans. You will do whatever I command of you until I feel you are of no use to me anymore."

I didn't like hearing that. There was no way I wanted to work for someone, especially someone like him. But...I really wanted to get out of this prison. It was a horrible place, and it even caused me to almost kill myself a few times. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't just do it. It's not like I have anything to live for...but still, no matter how bad my life got, I never once actually wanted to die. I just wanted to not live in the current situation I'm in. "...Fine," I told him, knowing that getting out of prison would be a major improvement.

"Excellent," He said with a smile, then reached behind him and pulled out what I believed was a makeshift bomb. "Just a second..." He placed it near the entrance of his cell, then got as far away from it as he could. In seconds, there was a huge explosion, blowing a hole in his cell just as planned. He rushed out and quickly stuck a small, metal rod into the lock on my cell. After some fumbling, it opened. "Hurry! We've got to get out of here before our escape is discovered!" He shouted, but as he turned to run towards the exit, he was greeted by several guards all pointing guns at him...well, mostly me, since I looked more threatening.

"Don't move!" One of them shouted, and I knew exactly what was going to happen next. They were gonna force us back into our cells, or maybe even throw us in solitary confinement. _...No... _I thought, as memories of sitting in a cell, alone for months entered my head. _I won't go back in there...I won't... S_ubconsciously, my body began to glow. The next thing I heard was bullets being fired at me, though I could barely even feel them. Suddenly, a bright beam of light shot from my body, forcing all of the guards to the ground and blowing a hole in the unarmored ceilng. Seeing my chance, I grabbed the green monkey's arm and leaped through the hole. Once on the roof, I jumped to the ground and ran as fast as I could. I probably could have taken them all out, but I really wasn't in the mood for a battle. I just wanted to be out of there.

In a few minutes we reached a forest, where we lost anyone who may have been pursuing us. I was breathing heavily from all the running I did. I looked down at the monkey when I heard his excited voice. "That was magnificent! You were unstoppable back there! Where did you receive so much power? And for that matter, where did a creature like you come from?" I didn't want to tell him my life story, so I just lied.

"I was born like this...and I don't remember much about my past." He seemed to believe it. "By the way...what's your name?" I asked.

"I am the world's supreme intellectual, the master of evil, king of destruction. I am, Mojo Jojo!" I just stared at him for a few seconds.

"Ok...Mojo." It was an odd name, but I didn't really care. "So, what exactly do you want me to do for you?"

He smiled. "You'll find out...now follow me." He walked off in a random direction. I followed him, curious about where he was going. It didn't take long for us to exit the forest, but when we did my heart nearly skipped a beat. We saw a town...but not just any town. Townsville. The location of the two kids I so desperately wanted to see. My first thought was to go to them, tell them how much I missed them. But then reality hit me. They didn't want to see me. My thoughts of them were interrupted when Mojo spoke. "I need to go retrieve something, so I need you to meet me at the Townsville bank in five minutes. Good luck." With that said, he walked into the city.

I didn't want to go. I knew everyone was gonna stare at me because of my hideous form, and most likely call the military. But Mojo seemed like a really smart guy, and the last thing I needed was a genius monkey holding a grudge against me. Sighing, I ran into the city, trying to get to the bank as quickly as I could. I ignored the screams of people who saw me dashing through the streets, since focusing on them would probably only increase their fear. I was almost there, I could see the bank ahead, when suddenly an explosion erupted to my left. I was sent into a car, crushing it slightly under my weight. When I looked up, I wasn't so surprised to see a helicopter. It had a large gatling gun, and several missiles under its small wings.

Before I could even move, a missile was sent straight at my head. I lunged to my right, barely avoiding the explosive. Retaliating, I jumped towards the flying machine and violently swung my fist at it. Unfortunately it was fast, and quickly moved out of the way of my attack. Just as I reached the ground again, it fired its gatling gun at me. The bullets were much stronger than the ones those guards fired at me, and were enough to make me stumble back. Quickly, I flipped a car onto its side, and used it as a shield. I could feel it shake as the bullets tore into it.

By then, everyone had fled the area to avoid getting hurt. Getting an idea, I lifted the car up and tossed it at the helicopter. It easily dodged it, and continued to fire at me. As the bullets roughly impacted my skin, I could feel rage building up inside of me. A ball of concentrated energy began to form in my hand. I shielded my face with my arm, and prepared to launch my attack. However, before I could, I saw bullets come from my left. They tore through the copter like it was nothing but paper. It spun around a few times, attempting to stay in the air, before accepting defeat and crashing into the ground. Whoever was in it was obviously dead.

I turned around and saw Mojo in a large, robotic machine. It was just slightly bigger than me. "Not bad, you did very well. But your primary weakness seems to be speed," He said, causing me to look at him suspiciously.

"Wait...are you saying you sent this thing to test me?"

"No, of course not, you have already displayed your strength to me. That is a military helicopter, sent here to capture or kill you for escaping prison." That made sense, so I believed him. After all, he was the only person I could consider an ally. "Now come on, we have work to do," He said, before going over to the bank. I followed him, realizing exactly what his plan was. He was gonna rob the bank. Just as I expected, he smashed a hole in the wall and entered. I tried to follow him, but he motioned for me not to. "You stay out here and guard the entrance," He said, going to get the money.

This didn't make sense to me. He only wanted me so I could guard the door? No, he had to have some better reason for enlisting me. Despite my confusion, I did as he said. In a few minutes, Mojo came back out carrying bags of money. I turned to him. "This was your plan?" Suddenly, I heard a strange sound behind me. And Mojo smiled.

"No," He said. "This is." I gave him a confused look, before I heard three familiar voices behind me.

"Not so fast, Mojo Jojo!" I knew exactly who they were...but I wasn't expecting them to show up. I mentally slapped myself when I realized that I had forgotten they were Townsville's protectors.

"Who the heck are you?" I heard the one known as Buttercup ask. I knew she was referring to me. They must not be able to remember me just from seeing my back...slowly, I turned around to face them. They all gasped when they saw my face. The first one of them I looked at was Bubbles. She had the most surprised expression out of all of them. They thought I was dead.

"It's...you..." Blossom said, but I continued to stare at her sister. Bubbles looked significantly older than she did in the past. Slightly more mature, and her pigtails may have been a tad longer. She was adorable. Her sisters must have noticed my gaze was on her, since they both stepped up and glared at me.

"I don't know how you survived, but we're gonna have to destroy you all over again!" Buttercup said, and I could tell she was ready to kill me. Blossom didn't say anything, but I knew she agreed. But Bubbles didn't look so sure...all she did was look down at the ground, away from me.

"Hehe, silly girls," Mojo started. "You have not yet seen his true power. This creature possesses the strength and energy to finally put you in your place."

"Oh yeah?" Buttercup said, smirking. "We'll just see about that!"

"Indeed we will...now, destroy the girls!" He shouted to me, shooting a missile out of his robot suit to start the battle. They must not have expected the sudden attack, because it exploded right in front of them. I nearly gasped when I saw Bubbles get sent back, and skid across the street. My anger flared up, as Mojo laughed. "If you girls can't even take my missiles, then when you fight my new accomplice he'll-" His gloating turned into a gasp as I grabbed the robotic suit he was in. "What are you doing?" I didn't speak, I just slammed him to the ground and began stomping on him. Not long after I started, smoke began coming out of his suit. Once I felt I did enough damage, I ceased. Mojo was pressing a big red button, trying to get the suit to do something, but it wouldn't respond. "Curses!" He shouted.

When I turned to look at the girls, they were all staring at me. Surprised looks on their faces. I couldn't control myself anymore, and began walking over to Bubbles. She started backing away from me, and I started extending my hand towards her. However, in an instant, her sisters were in front of her, giving me harsh glares.

"Stay away from her!" Blossom shouted.

"Yeah, after all this time, you still don't wanna leave her alone?" Buttercup said, making me think. Was I...obsessed with her and Boomer? No...I couldn't be. I love them, but I'm not obsessed.

"Let me see her..." I said, quietly.

"No way! After everything you did to her, you really expect us to just let you talk to her?" I could tell Blossom was really mad. More so than Buttercup.

"Get out of my way," I said, taking a step towards them, only to have Blossom roughly push me back. At that moment, my rage shot up again. I needed to talk to Bubbles, and her sisters were getting in the way...that's all they ever did. Suddenly, I grabbed Blossom's arm, shoving her to the ground before slamming my fist into her back. "Stop getting between us!" I roared, loud enough to hurt even my own ears. When I stopped, I looked at the other two Powerpuffs.

"Blossom!" They both shouted, both with looks of fear...but Bubbles's face caught my attention the most. She looked so innocent...so afraid...and then I realized I was the one who caused her fear. The thought nearly ripped me apart. But I didn't have much time to think about it. In a flash, Buttercup sent a punch to my face. I stumbled back, but still refused to look at anything other than Bubbles. She was just staring at me like I was some kind of monster...but I was. I was a monster, and I couldn't change that. I never did anything for Bubbles and Boomer other than bring them pain. I could feel my sorrow spreading from my mind to my body, causing it to shake slightly. The world hated me, wanted me dead...and it would be better off without me.

Unable to bear the look I was getting from Bubbles, I ran off. It was the only thing I could think of doing. It was better than staying there and hurting Bubbles's real family. The family she actually loved. I was just a monster to her...and that's all I would ever be...

To Be Continued...


	2. New Enemy

It had only been about an hour since I broke out of jail, and I already had two major regrets. One, coming back to Townsville. There was nothing left here for me...other than hatred. And two...actually believing that there was a chance that I could get Bubbles to like me. I felt so stupid. When I saw her and her sisters, I should have just left. But I couldn't...I just couldn't. As I sat in a dark alley, hiding from a world that could only offer me misfortune, I began to wonder why I still cared about Bubbles and Boomer. If I could just forget about them, I might actually be able to live a decent life...somewhere.

My breathing stopped as I heard voices coming from around the corner. Judging by how gruff they sounded, they were probably soldiers.

"Have you found out anything about the whereabouts of Camon?" One said.

"No, nothing," The other said, with a slight accent. "But there is some good news. Mojo Jojo has been apprehended." I smiled slightly, kinda glad that he was back in prison. I didn't really like him, especially after he attacked Bubbles. However, my smile faded when I heard what the first soldier said next.

"Camon has to be around here somewhere...here, let's check this alley." I then heard footsteps approaching my hidden location. I sighed quietly, knowing they were going to find me. It wasn't that I thought I couldn't beat them...but I knew that if they found me they'd call for backup, and then I'd be against the entire military. But, just when they were inches away from spotting me, I heard a loud explosion. The ground shook a bit at the sheer might of it. Then the footsteps became more rapid and went in the direction of it. I was very lucky...but curious too.

After a moment of thinking, I decided to go see what was going on. I couldn't stay in that alley forever, anyway. When I peeked out and looked around, I was greeted by a big hole in the ground. I didn't see the two soldiers, which made me sigh in relief. When I walked toward the hole, I heard a noise behind me, before a fireball came crashing into the building next to me. Before I could even turn around, I heard a very familiar voice behind me.

"Home run! Nice work, Boomer!" Boomer. I quickly swirled around to see the Rowdyruff Boys. Boomer was holding what looked like a bat made of electricity, and they were all laughing. Luckily, they were too far away, and too preoccupied, to notice me.

"Do it again!" Butch shouted, ripping the top off of a car, and crushing it into a ball. Then Brick used heat vision to set it on fire, while Boomer prepared himself to swing at it. I knew the best thing to do would be to leave, so I decided to do just that. But before I could, there was a flash in the sky. In mere moments, the Powerpuff Girls were all hovering in front of the boys.

"Game over, boys," Blossom said, her arms crossed.

"Aww, great, it's the Powerpuff Girls!" Brick said, sarcastically. I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I wanted to know what was going to happen, especially since Bubbles and Boomer were on opposite teams.

"Why don't you dorks just surrender, so we won't have to beat the crud out of you?" Buttercup said, slamming her fist into her palm to emphasize her fury.

"Ha! Not in a million years!" Butch shot back, and my eyes widened. My vision became fuzzy for a few seconds, before a scene began to appear in front of me.

Flashback...

"Come on, just let me see it!" I heard from my room. Sighing, I gave up trying to read my book and started listening to the argument going on in the living room.

"No way, it's mine!" My son shouted to his sister. I had recently gotten him a toy plane for his birthday. He loved it, and didn't want to let anyone else play with it.

"But it's so cool!" She said, and I could hear a bit of struggling going on. Standing up, I decided it was time to end it. "Please, I just wanna play with it!"

"No!" He shouted, as I walked out of my room and saw him standing over his sister, who was now on the ground with tears in her eyes. "Not in a million years!"

The flashback ended when I heard a loud noise, followed by Blossom being sent to the ground. At that moment, I realized that they were now fighting. I nearly gasped when I saw Bubbles and Boomer throwing punches at each other. It nearly broke my heart to see the two of them fighting each other...it reminded me of when my kids fought. They were supposed to like each other. No...they were supposed to love each other. Without even realizing it, my body started glowing. My anger, and even fear, increased rapidly. Just as it reached its peak, I shouted.

"Enough!" All of my rage came out in the form of a shock wave, sending them all back at an unbelievable speed. As they all hit the ground, my eyes went wide when I realized what I did. Quickly, I rushed to Bubbles and Boomer to see if they were ok, forgetting all about my decision to stay away from them. Bubbles had a cut on her leg, and even though it wasn't really that bad, my whole world practically fell apart. I didn't know if I'd ever be able to forgive myself...I hurt her and Boomer.

Just as Bubbles looked up and saw me, I pulled her and Boomer into a tight hug. I wasn't thinking anymore, all I could focus on was how much I cared about them. Bubbles's eyes were wide, but Boomer was still disoriented from my outburst. To my surprise, neither of them struggled to get free.

"You!" I heard Brick shout as he and the others recovered. Seconds later, I received a kick from both Blossom and her counterpart. I fell to the ground, but never let go of the two kids. Soon Boomer recovered, and realized just who was holding him. Gasping, he pried himself from my grip, and flew to his brothers. Then I felt Blossom and Buttercup grab their sister and pull her away from me, despite my attempt to keep her in my arms.

"I can't believe it...he's alive?" Boomer said, looking at Brick.

"Not for long," Butch said, approaching me as I sat up. I clenched my hands into fists, angry, and knowing I was gonna have to fight my wait out of this. However, when I looked up I saw something in the sky. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was very unusual. Butch noticed I was looking above him, and turned around to see what I was staring at. "What the?" He said, seeing exactly what I saw. Soon all of the kids were looking at it. It appeared to be getting closer.

It seemed like the clouds it got near faded into nothing, leaving a big hole in the sky. "...What the heck is that?" Buttercup said. It was now close enough to see that it was some kind of silver sphere. As we observed it, a red light at the bottom of it started blinking on and off, and a high pitch sound rang from it. My eyes widened, and I instinctively jumped in front of Bubbles and Boomer, somehow knowing that something bad was about to happen. I was right, a giant wave of energy shot from the sphere.

It demolished everything. Buildings were ripped apart and sent miles away into the horizon, trees were forced from the ground and hurled back, pretty much everything was being destroyed. We were all thrown back, landing roughly in different places. When I looked up, I gasped as I saw that the whole area was in ruins. And the sphere wasn't a sphere anymore...it had transformed into an android. The kids seemed just as surprised as I was.

"You...you're gonna pay for this!" Blossom shouted, obviously upset about a large area of Townsville being destroyed. She dashed at the machine, ready to strike it with everything she had. But as soon as she was close, it launched what looked like a small taser into her stomach. She screamed in pain as electricity was sent into her. Her sisters gasped before flying over to help her, but their new foe was prepared. Its metal arm stretched toward the two girls, grabbing them before they could even react. It began squeezing them, causing Bubbles to scream in fear. Then I nearly lost it.

Wasting no time, I dashed at the robot. It turned to me and sent its other arm at me. I knocked it away before grabbing the thing's neck, but before I could crush it, it grabbed my face and started shocking me. But that didn't stop me, I roared in pain and anger, then pulled the robot's head right off. At that moment, Blossom stopped being shocked, and Bubbles and Buttercup were released. I turned to them as they recovered and looked up at me. All of them were surprised, but Blossom's expression had a hint of suspicion. I turned to the boys to see that both Brick and Butch had the same look as Blossom. Just as I was about to say something, I heard a noise behind me. Turning around, I saw the android standing, without a head, and its right arm had turned into a blade. Before I even had time to blink, the sharp object was sent into my stomach. I stumbled back, placing my hand over the wound. I heard Bubbles and Buttercup gasp.

Before the bot continued to attack me, it looked down at the blood dripping from where I was stabbled, interested in it for some reason. Quickly, it scanned the blood before small sounds could be heard coming from it. Then it spoke with it's robotic voice. "Substance identified, Chemical X." My eyes widened a bit, and I sent my fist at its stomach, but it jumped into the air. Jets could be seen on its feet, and it used them to quickly fly into the sky.

"Come on, we gotta catch him!" Blossom said, before she and her sisters went after him.

"Finally, some real action!" Brick said, following the girls with his brothers close behind. I wanted to follow them, but I couldn't fly...and I didn't even know why. Looking down, I sighed as the destroyed area around me mirrored my mood. I looked up again to see if they were out of sight yet, and my heart nearly skipped a beat when I saw that Bubbles had stopped, and was looking down at me. I only stared back, wondering just what she was thinking behind that look of pure innocence.

"Um...thanks for trying to help us..." She said, hesitantly. She then slowly ascended higher into the sky, still looking at me. I said nothing, and just watched her. Soon she turned around, and flew full speed after her sisters. When she was gone I started to worry more than ever for her safety. What if she and her sisters couldn't beat the robot? What if it was leading them to a trap? What if it...killed them? I shook my head, unable to think about something so horrible. Then I heard the sound of a propeller above me, and looked up to see a helicopter, its spotlight aiming right at me. It didn't have any weapons like the last one I saw, so I figured it was just a search helicopter. Then it hit me, a way I could follow the Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys.

Crouching down, I prepared myself for what I was going to do. When I felt like I was ready, I pushed myself up with all of my strength. I went straight for the copter, reaching my hand out in an attempt to grab onto it. I had to get it, and avoid the spinning propeller while doing so.

To Be Continued...


	3. Illusions of the Mind

My ascension was rapid, uncontrolled. Even the clouds seemed to cower at my speed. I never knew what it was like to rise so fast, but that thought was forced to the corner of my mind by a more relevant one. Seizing the helicopter was a success, I managed to bring it down without destroying it. Though my side received a deep cut from its rotating blade, blood was still managing to ooze from the wound. But none of that mattered, not even the minutes wasted trying to learn how to fly up. All I could think about was the safety of the Blues, which made me feel sick to my stomach.

I was going through so much for them...and why? Because I had some kind of obsession for them? I cringed a bit, the thought of my feelings for them being purely a sickness was too much to bear. In a flash, I saw three colorful streaks dash through the air. I immediately knew it was the girls, and looked down at the controls to attempt to figure out how to steer the copter. The buttons and switches were like a foreign language to me. I looked up when I saw the boys, hovering and laughing as the girls searched for their foe. That was actually what I expected from them. They obviously didn't care about Townsville or anything, as long as they could get a good laugh. I almost smiled when my eyes focused on Boomer. He was having fun...even if it was at the expense of the Powerpuff Girls.

Suddenly, Butch took notice of me. He turned around as a scowl was placed on his face. However, it turned into a smirk as his eyes started glowing red. "You better grow some wings, loser, because you're going down," He stated, before beams of heat shot from his eyes. They melted the helicopter's propeller with ease, beginning my long descent back to the ground. I had to act fast, I wasn't sure if I could survive such a high fall, even with the massive amount of Chemical X in my body. The only solution my mind could bring forth was to try to use the substance inside of me to fly. It was logical to believe that I could, since the Powerpuff Girls and their counterparts can, but for some reason I was never able to.

Opening the helicopter's door, I was greeted by strong wind slamming against my face. But I ignored it and gazed at the ground so far below me. Then, before I was even entirely ready, I jumped. My eyes were tightly shut as I focused all of my energy on staying in the air. At that moment, it occured to me that this could be the end. My death could be in a few seconds...or minutes if I'm that elevated. I waited for something to give me an insight of what was happening. Perhaps the feeling of wind crashing against my body, before a hard impact to the ground. Or maybe a warm sensation, along with the lightness of a feather. Neither came.

When I opened my eyes I could see the ground still miles below me, though it didn't seem to be getting closer. Was I flying? I could still feel gravity's endless push on me, but there was also something else. I stood in thought, trying to figure out what exactly it was that felt so odd. Then it hit me...I was standing. Diverting my eyes downward again, I searched for what was holding me up. I was standing on nothing...but I could feel a hard surface beneath my feet.

Now all three of the boys were looking at me, confused and surprised expressions dominated their features. I didn't focus on them for long, however, when I heard a clanging sound. In a millisecond my eyes were on Bubbles and Buttercup, rubbing their heads like they had just hit something. But there was nothing here...

"What the heck was that?" Buttercup groaned, turning her head back and forth to locate the cause of her pain.

"...Did we hit a cloud?" Bubbles asked, giving me a warm feeling inside. Her naivete was adorable.

"Don't be stupid, Bubbles. We can't hit clouds," Her green eyed sister retorted, and I was unable to suppress a glare.

"She's right, Bubbles, it wasn't a cloud," Blossom started, flying to them. "But it was something." Without any hesitation, she placed her hand on the unseen object. There was definitely something there, but what was it? My question was answered when it started glowing underneath me. I then realized it was what I was standing on. In a flash, the object became completely visible...and we all gasped.

It was an aircraft, but not just any aircraft. A battleship, covered in weapons that didn't even look earthly.

"What...is that?" Buttercup asked, astonished by the sheer size of it. Suddenly, it started making a loud, high pitched sound. We covered our ears, all of us knowing something was about to happen.

"Scramble!" Blossom shouted, and on cue the girls dashed off in different directions, ready to avoid what ever might be coming. The boys simply hovered back a bit, more amazed than concerned. Then I realized that I had nowhere to go. I was right on top of the battleship, and I wasn't going to jump off and risk dying like that. I desperately searched for some kind of escape or protection, but to no avail. Then, when I least expected it, the hostile aircraft shot off even further into the sky. At the same time, it released a shockwave that hurled me back at extreme speeds.

As my altitude rapidly dropped, the wind was agitating the cut in my side. But my eyes were on the ground I was approaching. I hadn't realized how high I was...I was definitely going to die. Closing my eyes, I waited for my brutal death to come, and even tried to convince myself that it was for the best. What did I have to live for? I had no family, no friends, nothing. I could faintly hear the Rowdyruff Boys laughing at my nearing end, but maybe it was just my imagination. I decided to get one last look at the world that didn't want me, and slowly opened my eyes. I only saw one thing...

Blue, the color of the two most important people in the world to me. I descended closer to the calming color, almost reaching out in an attempt to grasp it. As I got closer to it, I began to see something slowly moving across it. It was as if the color was overlapping itself. I nearly gasped when I realized what it was. It was an ocean, and I was heading straight for it. I straightened my back, preparing to dive head first into the giant mass of water. I didn't know if I would survive, but it was my only chance. When I was just about to make contact, I closed my eyes in fear. But instead of the skull crushing crash that a part of me was expecting, I felt a cool sensation all around me.

When the shock of almost dying subsided, my eyes opened again. It didn't take me long to realize I was running out of oxygen, so I swam back up. When I resurfaced, the first thing I saw was the Rowdyruff Boys looking down at me.

"Aww, he's still alive!" Brick said, causing Butch to smirk.

"At least we get the pleasure of destroying him ourselves." As the Powerpuff Girls slowly descended next to the boys, Blossom and Buttercup glaring at me, my attention was drawn to two small ships approaching me. As they glided across the water, I could see another battle helicopter following close behind them. In seconds they reached me, a ship on each side and a helicopter above me. This wasn't good.

"Freeze, Camon!" A soldier aboard one ship said, pointing his gun at me. But he wasn't alone, there were several others standing next to him, each holding a weapon that seemed more lethal than the last. And it was the same on the second ship.

"Let's get outta here, boys," I heard Brick say to his brothers. "Once the military gets on you, they stay on you. We better leave while they're distracted." With that, they disappeared in a flash of colors. I then considered my options. I could fight the military and try to escape, but the Powerpuff Girls would probably try to stop me...well, Buttercup and Blossom definitely would. And it would be nearly impossible for me to swim back to land...I wasn't even sure which way to go. So even if I did manage to win the fight, I'd still be lost at sea...there was nothing I could do.

I turned my head to look at Bubbles, almost believing that she would have a solution for me. She didn't even make eye contact, just looked at the water, not sure what to do either. One of the soldiers must have seen how conflicted she looked, and asked the next question. "Should we take him away?" His attention stayed on me, but the girls knew he was talking to them.

"Yeah, take him," Buttercup said, not even having to think about it.

"He belongs in prison, with the rest of the criminals," Blossom said, her arms crossed. When Bubbles said nothing, they both turned to her. The looks on their faces said it all, they were silently ordering her to agree with them. She looked at them for a second, then at the soldiers, then finally at me. I could only stare at her as her gaze turned back to the water...and she nodded.

My heart nearly stopped...I was crushed, and I didn't understand why. Anyone else would've expected her to agree with her sisters, so why didn't I? Was I so deluded by my own wishes that I couldn't properly perceive reality? A crane lifted me onto one of the ships, and as soon as my feet touched the cold floor I was restrained. My arms were chained behind my back, my legs strapped tightly together, and a metal collar was put around my neck. A chain secured it to a guardrail on the ship. And if that wasn't enough, I was placed in a large, metal box. A small row of bars offered me my only view of the outside world.

As the ship began drifting carefully across the ocean, my journey back to prison had officially started. But that didn't matter, I had bigger things on my mind...

To Be Continued...

**Oh, and, FFL, listen to Vanilla Twilight at 6:58 PM. I'm probably not gonna be online at that time, so I'm telling you in this chapter. ^^**


	4. A New Friend

Two hours had passed since I was apprehended, and it was starting to get dark. I was still in the metal box they had put me in, it gave me little room to move. Though I ignored the slight claustrophobia nibbling at what little sanity I still had and began planning my next move. We had reached land a while ago, and I was placed in the back of a truck. Based on what I could see through the bars of my portable cell, they were taking me back to Townsville. Sighing, I considered my options. I could just let myself be imprisoned, that might be the easiest thing to do. And I was beginning to think that it might also be the best choice. But I wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle prison life again.

As we traveled deeper into the city, the possibility of escaping crossed my mind. Maybe, with all my power, I could smash my way out and retreat to a safe place. But where? I would, without a doubt, have to leave Townsville, but would the military ever stop looking for me? If I just suddenly disappeared, how far would they go to find me? Then it occured to me that they had money, resources, connections, easy transportation, and manpower. They would chase me around the world if they had to, and even if I did manage to escape their clutches as long as I'm in this monstrous form I'll stick out like a sore thumb. The only way to guarantee my safety would be to...go somewhere with no inhabitants.

The universe seemed as displeased with the idea as I did, as the truck hit a pothole and shook my metal prison. The thought of living alone in a place like a cave or a forest angered me. But, then again, maybe I deserved it. I was a monster...and a kidnapper. Memories of everything I had done the previous year soon flooded my mind. I had so many regrets, abducting Bubbles and Boomer, keeping them trapped at my house, all of it disgusted me now. But when I was doing it...it felt so right. _Damn it, what is wrong with you? _I asked myself, my claws scraping against the metal wall out of rage. It was my own fault that they hated me. I took them from their families, hurt them, scared them, and I even almost killed Boomer! My hands were clenched tightly into fists, and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I lowered my head in shame.

_You're such a...FREAK! _Without warning, all of my sorrow and rage came out as a roar, loud enough to deafen anyone who happened to be too close. My body was heating up, and I soon discovered that I was beginning to glow. Ignoring it, I let myself be consumed by negative emotions. Another roar escaped my lips, though not as loud as the first. I could feel something inside of me. It was overwhelmingly uncomfortable, but I didn't know what it was. I had to release it, whatever it was, immediately.

I roared once again, but this time something happened. There was a flash, blinding me momentarily, but I didn't care. I felt as if my body was destroying itself, my remorse was killing me. I wanted it all to stop, and for a split second I actually wanted to die. This, however, was pushed from my thoughts when I opened my eyes. Flames, that's all I saw...everything was being engulfed by a devastating fire. Astonished, I turned my head to look at the rest of the area. When my gaze was to my left, I saw the remains of the truck that had been transporting me. I couldn't believe it, I broke free without even knowing it.

Taking a step forward, I felt something touch my back. I swirled around to see what had done it, but didn't find anything. Then I remembered something and lifted my hand up to my neck. It was just as I thought, the collar was still on me, its chain dangling against my back. I let out a sigh before returning my attention to the destruction I had caused. The work of a true barbarian...

"Woah..." A voice said behind me, and I froze. I was glad that I escaped before we were in Townsville, or everyone would have seen, but who was this person who witnessed it? Slowly, I turned around to get a good look. My eyes widened when I saw a girl, floating in mid air. My first thought was that she was a Powerpuff Girl, but then I realized that I didn't recognize her. Still, her outfit was very similar, yellow with a black stripe. But wait...she was hovering with a jetpack. She seemed just as surprised to see me, but it didn't last long as her face curled into a small glare. "Oh, it's just another monster. I swear, Townsville must attract more than any other city," She said, turning to leave.

"Wait," I suddenly said, stopping her.

"What?" She asked impatiently, turning back to me.

"Are you a...Powerpuff Girl?" Her eyes seemed to widen a bit as we stared at each other. A hateful look soon replaced her one of slight shock.

"No! For your information, I'm too good to be a part of such a lousy team." She crossed her arms and closed her eyes as she spoke. Before I could respond to her, my eyes widened and my vision began to blur. As reality faded away, I could see two kids sitting on the floor, coloring. One of them was...my daughter. She was with her best friend, Kimberly. I could see them talking and laughing, but I couldn't hear their voices. Suddenly, when my daughter wasn't looking, Kimberly snook up behind her and poked her. Then they proceeded to play what looked like tag. My flashback was ended by the yelling of the girl in front of me. "Hey, are you even listening?"

Then I realized that I had been staring at her the entire time. And I noticed something else...she looked a lot like Kimberly. "Uh, yeah, but...if you're not a Powerpuff Girl, why do you look so much like one?"

"Coincidence," She said almost instantly, her face still a scowl. "Accidents happen." I honestly believed that she wasn't telling the truth, but I figured telling her that wouldn't do any good.

"...Do you want to be one?" There was a moment of silence, her mouth was slightly agape. Just when I thought she was going to give me a calm answer, I got the opposite.

"Of course not!" A missile was fired from her jetpack and went straight for my head. I ducked just in time, letting it crash into the ground a few feet behind me, creating a larger explosion than I expected. "Why would I want to be one of them? I'm much better off on my own, I don't need them! My daddy has enough money to get me twice as much as what they have, and I..." She stopped when she saw how obvious it was that I wasn't buying what she was saying. Surprisingly, she simply glared and continued to lie. "I'm fine on my own! I'm more powerful than any of them could ever hope to be, because I'm just better!" She turned away from me and crossed her arms. "I'm better than all of them."

I wasn't sure what to say...or if I should have said anything. It wasn't really my business how she felt about the girls, but something about it just interested me. As I looked up at her hovering form, I could practically feel her fuming. Deciding that arguing with her would be a bad idea, I said the best thing to say to any little kid in a situation like this. "Well...I'm sure you would have been a great Powerpuff Girl." When she didn't reply, I took that as my opportunity to leave. However, as I was walking in the opposite direction of Townsville, I was stopped by her voice.

"...Really?" I heard her say, causing me to turn around. A trace of shock could be seen in her eyes.

"Yeah...you're-" I was stopped in the middle of my sentence by a sudden pain in my back, and a force knocking me to the ground. Slightly dazed, I sat up just in time to see a tank fire at me. I rolled over, barely avoiding the solid bullet. Shrapnel flew from it and it hit the ground, striking my arm. Standing up, I prepared myself for battle, only to get pushed back to the ground by an explosion to my left. My eyes darted to two helicopters, both shooting at me with everything they had.

I jumped to my feet, dodging several bullets and missiles. As quickly as I could, I dashed at my adversaries, before propelling myself up at one of the copters. It swerved to the right, my claws missed it by inches. As soon as my feet touched the ground, an explosive projectile hit my stomach. As I fell to the ground, I could feel the rapid fire of a gatling gun against my skin. I lifted my hand up, calling forth as much of my energy as I could manage. Knowing a blast would only take care of one of my enemies, I created a force field instead.

They pelted my barrier mercilessly while I tried to think of a plan. I knew the moment my shield was down I was going to take a few hits. I would have to act fast, but was I quick enough? It would only take one good shot to knock me down, leaving me vulnerable to a bombardment of endless pain. The odds were against me...and I was starting to wonder if survival was even possible this time. If I didn't take them out fast enough back up might show up, more tanks, helicopters, planes, these people were never going to stop unless I died.

Hearing a loud noise, I looked up and almost gasped when I saw a blast of yellow energy practically obliterate one of the helicopters. Along with the tank and second helicopter, I looked in the direction it came from. To my complete surprise, it was the kid I was just talking to. She was holding a ray gun, and had an unreadable look on her face. The remaining aircraft didn't waste a second as it fired several rounds at her.

Using her jetpack, she avoided every single bullet that came her way, approaching her target as she did so. The flying menace began slowly drifting backwards, still unloading its weapons at her. In what seemed like an instant, she was right in front of it. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small object. I couldn't see what it was from where I was, but when she hurled it at the airborne contraption a sudden explosion tore it apart. Wasting no time basking in the defeat of the helicopters, she landed in front of her final opponent, staring it down.

Strangely, the tank didn't fire or try to harm her at all. I figured whoever was in it was having second thoughts about blasting a little girl. That proved to be a big mistake as several missiles were launched from her jetpack, trapping the metal tool of destruction in an explosive storm. As our last foe was beaten, all I could do was stare in shock. I guessed she was strong...but not this strong.

Almost forgetting to remove my force field, I slowly walked over to my savior, still a bit astonished by what I had just seen. "Wow...that was great," Was all I could say.

"I know," She said, putting her gun away and turning to me. By the way she was looking at me, it seemed as if she was trying to figure me out. After a few seconds, I realized that I had been staring at her too. "Why is the military after you?" My eyes widened at that question. There was no way I could tell her about the things I did in the past, how crazy and stupid I was. I decided to make my answer as vague as possible.

"Well...I did some things, and...I'm kind of a criminal. They've been chasing me relentlessly all day, and I'm not sure if there's any place I can go where they won't find me..." I looked down, not able to keep my gaze on her. I didn't exactly intend for some of that to come out, but it felt a little good to actually talk to someone about it. It was better than just keeping all of my anger and grief inside. When she didn't say anything, I brought my eyes back to her to see that she was thinking deeply about something. Just as I was about to ask her about it, she spoke.

"Hmm...follow me," She said, suddenly flying off. I didn't have time to ask questions, she was going so fast. I tried my best to keep up, running as fast as I could. Avoiding the remains of the military weapons, I looked up to see where we were going. My eyes widened when I realized that she was leading me into Townsville. I wanted to stop, but my curiosity told me to keep going. It was dark, so there was a smaller chance of anyone seeing me. Still, I ran as quietly as I could and took the most hidden paths possible. To my slight surprise, nobody spotted me. After a few minutes of following her, she finally stopped.

"Where are we?" I asked, before noticing the building sitting in front of us. It was big and tall, and looked so...nice. Its several windows were crystal clear, flashing lights adorned its surface, everything was in place.

"This," She started, walking over to the door and gently opening it. "Is my personal hotel." I was shocked by what I saw inside. It was huge, and everything looked so clean. The walls were painted beautifully and obscured by detailed artwork, the floor was covered in expensive looking tiles. Basically, it was a deluxe hotel.

"Wow..." Was all I could say as I walked in. It was amazing, I had never seen such a wonderful place to live.

"My daddy bought it for me for my birthday. He made sure he got me the biggest and best hotel in Townsville," She stated with pride, carefully brushing her hand against a magnificent statue. I turned to her and spoke.

"This is impressive, but...why did you bring me here?" It didn't make much sense to me. Why would she want to show me her five star hotel? Was she trying to show off how rich she was? She did seem like the kind of person who would do that.

"Isn't it obvious? What do people do at hotels?" She stared at me, impatiently waiting for my response. It didn't take me long to figure out where she was going with that question, and frankly I was quite surprised. She wanted me to stay at her hotel? We barely knew each other, and she was already giving me a home? Nodding, I said the only words my lips could form.

"Thank you..." She simply nodded, before releasing a big yawn. It was pretty late for someone her age. "Maybe we should go to bed," I said, I was pretty tired myself. It was a long day for me, escaping prison, fighting the military, getting forced out of the sky and into an ocean. All of it was very tiring.

"You can, I have to get back home." She yawned again, rubbing one of her eyes. "I wouldn't want to make daddy worry." I was slightly disappointed. The truth was, I was kind of hoping she would stay with me. I know from lots of experience that being alone isn't fun, and it can be maddening in a large building.

"Oh, ok," I said. After a moment, I turned to go to one of the rooms. About a minute of looking around was enough to make me give up trying to find the right way to go and turn back to her. "Um, could you show me where I can find a room?" The place was so big, I had no idea where to go. It was like a maze, which made me dread having to be alone there even more.

"Fine," She said, yawning once more before walking down a long hall. We passed several doors and pictures hanging on the walls, a few of them being of her. After making a few turns, she took me into a room just as nice as the rest of the hotel. "This is the best room in the whole building..." She said, sleepily. I walked around, taking in every detail. The scenery was just...perfect.

"This is great...I...I don't know what to say..." I was actually starting to see her as a true friend. She was doing so much for me...suddenly, I realized something. "Hey, by the way, what's your..." I stopped when I saw her on the bed, sleeping peacefully. She really must've been tired. Smiling slightly, I carefully tucked her in. After letting out a yawn of my own I decided to go find another room to sleep in. As I made my way down the long hall, I wondered what was going to happen the next day...

Meanwhile, at the Townsville jail...

"He thinks he can stab me in the back, betray me, double cross me. I think not, he does not know who he is dealing with. My superior intelligence surpasses all of the world's geniuses. I am unmatched, without equal, no opposition can compare to me. And as soon as I get out of this confinement I will have my revenge, or my name isn't Mojo Jojo!"

Maniacal laughter echoed throughout the halls of the prison, and even the most distorted inmate could tell that something was about to happen.

To Be Continued...


	5. Late Night Vengeance

My eyes darted left and right as fear began to overwhelm me. I was surrounded by nothing but darkness, slightly adding to my state of fright. It was strange, I didn't know what I was afraid of, but I knew it was there. I had no idea where I was, everything was pitch black. Silence was all I could hear as I persuaded myself to take a step forward, waving my arms around in an attempt to find something in the dark. The floor creaked as my foot hit the ground, instantly putting me on edge. My second step was a little easier; I was beginning to dismiss the idea of a threat being near.

When I made my third step, however, a light suddenly appeared ahead of me. My eyes were immediately on the eerie glow, a shadow of a figure outstretched towards me. I followed it to its source, gasping at the sight before me. I could feel my body trembling as I stared into the emotionless eyes of my son. Nothing could be seen in his features, it was as if his humanity had been drained from him. I was skeptical about approaching him, maybe even afraid. His hard gaze alone was enough to urge me to step back.

Talking to him was the only option I found bearable. My mouth slowly opened as a storm of possible things I could say tore through my mind. For an instant I thought about how easy it was to talk to him in the past. "Son..." I started, unable to deal with the pain of uttering his name. To my slight surprise, he turned and ran from me. I stared in disbelief. Why was he running? Did I do something wrong? Then I remembered the savage form I was in. He probably didn't even recognize me...

Shaking off the thoughts of how horrible I looked, I was unable to stop myself from pursuing my son. The light I had seen moments ago seemed to follow him, giving me a clear view of where he was going. We were running through what seemed to be a hall, I passed a few doors. I stopped suddenly when I noticed the young boy entering a room. Fear consumed me as I wondered what awaited me through the slightly opened door.

I still heard no sounds, other than my own breathing and possibly my heartbeat. I considered just shutting the door and getting out of there, but curiosity had a firm grip on me. Hesitantly, I pushed myself forward, one cautious step at a time. The desired destination slowly grew closer. My hand soon reached the knob, shaking at the suspense. I took a moment to brace myself for whatever I was going to see. However, a scream assaulted my ears and interrupted the comforting thoughts I was trying to muster.

My eyes widened, I could recognize that high pitched shriek anywhere. My fear instantaneously subsided as I swung the door open, cracking the wall as its knob hit it. I froze, what I saw was almost enough to make me faint. My son was on his knees, kneeling over the form of his younger sister, my daughter. A crimson pool surrounded her body, and I could tell she wasn't breathing. I could feel my whole world falling apart as I subconsciously advanced toward the siblings. My son soon looked up at me, his eyes still holding no emotions. I allowed my focus to go to him for a second, before returning it to his sister. Then, to my horror, I noticed something stuck in her chest, a syringe containing a black substance.

I already knew what it was; it was the cause of just about every problem in my life. Chemical X, the DNA enhancing toxin. I tried my best to shake off the incoming rage, sorrow, and despair, but I was unable to stop it from hitting me hard. Tears spilled from my eyes as my body shook from the overflow of emotions. My hands clenched into tight fists and I couldn't suppress the urge to lower my head in shame, which turned out to be a big mistake. My eyes were immediately on my hands when I noticed they were covered in red. It dripped from my fingers down to the floor beneath me.

I wasn't sure how, but I knew it was blood. Then my eyes widened as I had a terrifying realization. Looking up, I gasped when I saw that my daughter's corpse was no longer with my son, it was at my feet. I could now see large claw marks on her face, disfiguring it horribly. As quickly as possible, I lifted my hands up and inspected my claws. They were stained with blood and littered with torn pieces of flesh, confirming what I believed happened. I took several steps back, freaking out a bit and finding only confusion wherever I turned. I killed my daughter...I had no memory of it but I did it.

I was traumatized, swinging my head back and forth in search of some kind of explanation. Soon my back was against a wall, and this time I was sure I could hear my rapid heartbeat. I wanted to run away from this awful scene, but the door was no longer there. It had vanished, leaving me alone to face my greatest fear. Desperately, I tried to locate another way out; a window, a balcony, anything. But all exits were gone.

"Why?" My son suddenly said, making me turn to him. Now he had claw marks on him, all over his face and body. He didn't look emotionless anymore, overwhelming fear could be seen in his eyes. All I could do was watch as he collapsed to the ground, not even resisting death. Rather than blood, a puddle of black began surrounding him. I stared at the bodies of my two children, unable to believe what happened. I shook with anger and guilt, it was all my fault they were dead. It was my job to protect them and I let them die!

_They're gone because of you... _I thought to myself, intentionally provoking my self hatred. "No," I whispered, trying to deny what I already knew was true. At that moment my remorse shot up. I could feel my heart throbbing painfully with each beat, and my body was becoming stiff. My emotional pain was becoming physical, it was agonizing. I couldn't take it anymore. "Stop it!" I shouted as loudly as I could, and everything stopped as if on cue.

I quickly looked around and was surprised to find myself in a large bed. It was dark but a digital clock was able to alert me that it was almost three in the morning. I didn't know what was going on for a second, but then I realized that everything that had just happened was nothing more than a nightmare. Sitting up, I placed my hand on my chest as I remembered how much pain I felt moments ago. Horrible dreams weren't uncommon for me, but I could never seem to get used to them.

A metal rod suddenly struck my head, causing me to look up. My eyes went wide, I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a big hole in the ceiling, leading to the next floor. It was almost perfectly circular...I quickly looked at my hands and saw the remains of built up energy. I must have accidentally made the hole in my sleep.

"What the heck is going on in here?" I turned to see the girl from yesterday standing at the doorway. She was still wearing her super suit, which didn't surprise me since she fell asleep in it.

"Uh..." Was all I managed. I found it hard to tell her that I had a bad dream and accidentally blew a hole in the ceiling. It was just...such a bad excuse.

"Well?" She demanded, and I knew if I didn't tell her she was going to get really upset. I sighed and got off the bed.

"I, um..." I began, looking away in embarrassment. "I kind of had a nightmare, and I guess it caused me to-"

"You blew a hole in my hotel just because of a stupid nightmare?" Now she was glaring harshly at me. I didn't blame her, I was a grown man freaking out and breaking stuff because of nightmares. It was so humiliating...

"Sorry..." I said, not knowing what else to say. She looked up at the damage I had created, her scowl intensifying. Then she took a few threatening steps in my direction.

"Now I'm going to have to pay someone to fix it, all because of you!" She yelled, pointing a finger at me. "You're lucky it's late and I'm tired, or I would..." She stopped in the middle of her sentence when the ground beneath us started shaking. It was like a random earthquake was occuring. "Great, what did you do now?"

"I'm not doing this," I stated, looking around for the source of the shaking. Then I decided to look out the window, but as soon as I got to it the earthquake ceased. There was nothing outside but houses, buildings, and some trees. Everything seemed normal.

"I'm going back to bed," The girl said, annoyance in her voice. But before she could even turn around a giant metal boot stepped in front of the window, making the ground vibrate again. I stepped back, just before a large robotic hand smashed through the wall and grabbed me, lifting me up to a metallic face. "My hotel!" I heard her shout, and I could hear laughter coming from the huge machine.

I recognized the voice but couldn't believe it was actually him. "I've finally located you! You thought you could hide from the great mind of Mojo Jojo, but you were mistaken!" He shouted proudly, his voice echoed through the speakers his robot had on its head.

"What do you want, Mojo?" I asked, struggling against the grip of his contraption.

"Isn't it obvious? You betrayed me, turned against me, deceived me, and now I will get my revenge! My creation is far more powerful than you could ever hope to be," He said, making his metal beast squeeze me tighter. "Prepare to suffer by the hands of-" He was silenced by a missile hitting his robot's face, knocking it down and making it drop me. As soon as I was on the ground again, I turned to see my only ally. She had a look of pure hatred on her face.

"You wrecked my hotel, you giant metal idiot! I don't care what your problem is, just take it somewhere else so I can get some sleep!" She shouted at Mojo as he made his colossal android sit up.

"Princess Morbucks?" He asked, and I finally knew her name. I liked it, but it did suggest that she was rich and spoiled...which she was. "Fine, we'll settle this somewhere else." His robot then reached for me again, but I jumped onto its arm and climbed to its shoulder. "Hold still!" He yelled just before I punched its cheek, making a large dent. Princess just glared as she watched Mojo struggle to get me off. I struck his machine a few more times before he managed to knock me to the ground. "You'll pay for that!" He said, and before I knew it there was a metal foot descending at me.

Using all four of my arms, I stopped it from crushing me. I was barely able to hold it up. _Damn! _I thought as the metal creature pushed down harder.

"Give it up, your desire to stay alive is pointless. You've already lost," Mojo said as the weight of his machine brought me to my knees. My arms were aching and begging me to give up, but I just couldn't. I was running out of strength, and at that moment I asked myself if this was the end. Was I going to be killed by Mojo Jojo? He was definitely capable of more than I previously thought, but was he going to be the one to end my life? As I was pushed lower I couldn't stop myself from closing my eyes, not wanting to see my death coming.

Suddenly, the force pushing me down started to feel lighter. I was able to lift it up high enough to allow me to stand. I was confused, and a bit surprised when I opened my eyes. Princess was by my side, helping me lift the metal man's foot. "What?" Mojo shouted, shocked. Her super suit must have also given her super strength. At the same time, we both pushed up as hard as we could, sending Mojo's robot falling into an office building. It was quickly covered in debris, preventing it from getting up.

"There, we beat him, let's go back to bed now," Princess impatiently said, turning back to her hotel and glaring as she saw the hole Mojo had made. I nodded, though I was worried about having another nightmare. As I followed her back to her building, however, I heard the monkey's voice behind me.

"Well, what do we have here?" He said, making me spin around. He was now out of his ruined robot and was picking up an old newspaper from the ground. I gasped when I saw a picture of me on it, but Mojo scanned through its information before I even had time to react. Then he smiled, letting a small laugh escape his lips. "So, that is who you are...John Camon," He said, running into the darkness. I didn't even bother chasing him, it probably would have been pointless. Now he knew who I was, but he was a criminal himself so I didn't think he could do anything with that info.

"Are you coming, John?" I heard Princess ask, her tone still impatient. After a few seconds I simply walked in her direction, back into the hotel. We said nothing to each other as we went back to our rooms, and I was a little surprised that she didn't ask why Mojo was after me. I ignored the hole in the ceiling and went to the bed, but just as I was about to flop down on it I heard a phone ringing. I quickly located it on a table a few feet from me. It was weird, I didn't remember seeing it earlier. I considered getting Princess to answer it but she was probably so tired by now, so I decided to just let it ring. But after three minutes of constant ringing I realized that it wasn't going to stop. Sighing, I slowly grabbed the phone and put it against my ear.

"Hello?" I said cautiously, disguising my voice the best I could.

"Oh, hello," Said a high pitched voice that seemed to echo. "How are you?" I heard a small giggle.

"Um...who are you?" I asked. Whoever it was sounded a little like a male. There was a moment of silence before I got an answer.

"I've been watching you, John Camon," He said, his voice getting deep and hostile as he said my name. Then, without warning, he hung up. I had no idea who he was, but as I lowered the phone from my ear I suspected I had a new enemy.

To Be Continued...


	6. Devil's Influence

I stirred slightly in my sleep, consciousness slowly returning to me. As I quietly tossed and turned I could feel the sun's rays against my face. The radiant energy was very refreshing; it gave my skin a small tingling feeling. When my eyes opened I was greeted by a window granting me a view of the city, illuminated perfectly by endless sunshine. Sitting up, I managed a small smile. It was a new day, and hopefully it would be better than the previous.

As I got out of bed I released a sigh of relief when I realized that I hadn't had any more nightmares. My sleep after dealing with Mojo was actually peaceful and calm, though I was still a bit tired from being up so late. My slight exhaustion was confirmed by a yawn, momentarily breaking the steady silence. After stretching a bit I exited the room, gently shutting the door behind me. Having nothing else to do, I decided to go see if Princess was up yet. I wouldn't have been surprised if she wasn't; last night's events were pretty tiring. A clock informed me that it was a little after nine as I headed through the halls. After a lot longer than I expected I found her room. I considered knocking, but if she was still asleep I didn't want to wake her up. So I simply pushed the door open slightly, sticking my head in to get a good look.

I was a little surprised to see her sitting on her bed, her legs dangling below her. She had her fingers wrapped firmly around a remote, and the television in front of her was on. Almost immediately she turned and saw me, glaring a bit. "Ever heard of knocking?" She angrily asked.

"Sorry," I quickly said, a tad embarrassed as I entered her room to see what she was watching. It was the news, which confused me greatly. I expected someone her age to be watching cartoons. Then I noticed that she was still in her power suit. She had been wearing it since we first met, and I was growing more curious about it. "Maybe you should take that off now." Princess looked down at herself, and then gave me a scowl as she figured out what I meant.

"I'll take it off when I feel like it," Was her response as she turned up the volume on the TV, tuning me out. I just stared, wondering why she was so upset by my statement. She couldn't wear her fashionable weapon forever, and I didn't think she had a reason to want to. After a while I decided not to worry about it, and sat a few feet away from her on the soft bed. Princess didn't seem to mind too much, though I did note how she tensed slightly. I was actually pretty hungry, but I doubted I'd be able to find the kitchen in the huge hotel. I did consider asking Princess; however I soon realized that it probably wasn't a good time to bother her about it.

At that moment I began to question why she was even giving me a place to live. She had no idea who I was and didn't show much interest in finding out, so why was she helping me? I then remembered how surprised she seemed when I told her she would have been a good Powerpuff Girl, but could that really have been the only reason she was assisting me? Did being a Powerpuff Girl mean that much to her? As if to answer my question a commercial featuring the three girls was displayed in front of us. Discreetly, I glanced at Princess and saw an intensifying glare on her face as she watched the heroines. She appeared to hate them, but if that was the case she couldn't have been helping me because I said she would have been a great Powerpuff.

I turned my head to look at the commercial again, which turned out to be a mistake when my mind froze as I saw Bubbles. I hadn't thought about her or Boomer for a while and I was hoping it would stay that way, but apparently that wasn't going to happen. I missed them so much, it was driving me crazy! _No! _I thought to myself, shaking my head roughly. Luckily Princess didn't see my action. _I have to forget about them; they're not my kids! _My heart sank as I told myself that, making me lower my head in sorrow.

They weren't my kids, and they never would be. Mine died a long time ago...and I was just going to have to deal with that. I could feel myself begin to sniffle as tears threatened to spill from my eyes. Princess was too preoccupied with the commercial to notice, and I was glad. The last thing I needed was her questioning me about my feelings...if she would even care. Yeah, she was letting me stay in her amazing hotel, but other than that she hadn't shown any real signs that I mattered to her.

Suppressing a sigh, I let my thoughts return to Boomer and Bubbles. I wondered what they were doing and if they were ok. They probably were; they had powers, but that didn't stop me from worrying. Then, suddenly, I heard a voice speak to me. "If you want them...take them!" It said, getting dark and ominous at the end. I recognized it; it was the voice of the mysterious person I spoke with last night. With all the speed I could muster, I looked around to identify the speaker. When I saw no one other than Princess, who didn't seem to hear anything abnormal, my first assumption was that it was in my head; some kind of...schizophrenia. That didn't really come as a surprise to me, it wasn't the first time I heard voices...but it was the first time I heard someone I didn't know personally.

Knowing the best thing to do was to ignore it, I turned my head back to the TV and was a bit disappointed to see that the commercial was over and the news was back on. The date and time could be seen at the bottom of the screen. When I saw that it was Thursday I quickly realized that Bubbles and Boomer were probably at school. Well...Bubbles probably was, but I didn't know about Boomer. My eyes widened slightly when I realized something else, making me turn to look at Princess again. Her eyes were locked on the television as she continued to glare, though not as intensely as when the commercial was playing.

Suddenly, my vision became fuzzy. Reality was being obscured by what seemed to be a dark haze. Soon I couldn't identify anything in front of me. My gaze darted left and right, looking for anything I could recognize. My frantic search only ceased when three figures appeared ahead of me. To my dismay, my two kids and kimberly stood before me, waving as they turned to rush to a yellow bus. Watching their backpacks bounce slightly as they hopped up the steps, I figured out exactly where they were going, yet I couldn't help but take a step forward when they departed.

"What are you doing?" Princess asked, snapping me out of it. I turned to see that she was just staring at me, and then looked down at my legs when I noticed that I was now standing.

"Well, I," I began, ransacking my brain for a good answer. It took several seconds of awkward silence before I gave up and decided to change the subject. "Um, shouldn't you be in school?" I asked. It was obvious that she wasn't an ordinary child, but she still needed an education. The frown that took over her face suggested to me that her answer wouldn't be good.

"No," She stated as calmly as she could, crossing her arms. "My daddy is the richest person in Townsville and he always gives me money when I need it, so I'll never need to learn, get a job or anything." I was more surprised than I expected by her response. She was honestly planning on not going to school or even working at all? It was just so...disappointing.

"Princess...I really don't think you should depend on your father's money for your entire life," I told her. She needed to have something to fall back on; what if one day her dad couldn't help her anymore? I waited for a reply while she just glared at me.

"Whatever, you're just jealous," She said almost instinctively as she turned away. I wasn't sure what to say to her now; she was completely content with her plans for the future. Then it hit me, maybe if I gave her an example she would understand.

"Uh, well..." I said, thinking about what I should tell her. "The Powerpuff Girls have superpowers but they don't depend on them, so maybe you should-"

"I don't care how the Powerpuff Girls do things!" She quickly said, sliding off the bed and letting her feet touch the ground. Her fists were shaking slightly, one of them still holding the remote, and I could see the obvious rage in her eyes.

"Princess, just listen, you need to-" I was silenced when the remote was hurled at me, missing by inches as I moved my head to the side. I could hear it shatter against the wall behind me.

"Just leave me alone!" She shouted, and before I could even utter a word her jetpack propelled her through the open window. In seconds she was gone, and I was a bit confused about what just happened. I really wasn't expecting her to react so violently. Sighing, I decided it just wasn't my job to tell her how to prepare for her future. Now I was going to have to wait for her to come back and hope that by then she won't still be mad. Glancing at the window one more time, I turned to exit the room, only to stop when I saw three framed pictures hanging on the wall.

One was of Princess and a man I assumed was her father. It must've been taken a while ago since Princess looked a bit younger in it. What I found weird was that she was smiling, but her dad wasn't. The look on his face was almost emotionless; there were no signs of happiness. After studying him for a moment I turned to the next picture, gasping loudly and taking a step back when I saw who was in it.

Princess's dad...shaking hands with a man I knew very well. He was my boss back when we were developing Chemical X. The stuff would never have existed if it weren't for him. But what was he doing in this picture? Did he have something to do with Princess and her dad? So many questions were swirling around in my head; I had no idea what to think. Confusion was consuming me, along with hatred for the man who created the chemical that ruined my life. My eyes widened as my body began to glow; my anger was turning into deadly energy. I had to stop myself; I couldn't release it inside the hotel. Princess would be furious and I'd probably be crushed by all of the debris.

Shutting my eyes, I struggled to contain the raw power inside of me, but there was little I could do to stop myself from erupting. After a while I was panting, but my rage wouldn't drop. I lowered my head as hope began to disappear. I knew my negative feelings were going to explode out of me, and there was nothing I could do to stop them. However, when I looked up and saw the third picture on the wall I felt as if something inside of me halted.

It was Princess, but what caught my attention was the big smile on her face as she tightly hugged a large pile of money. I knew it wasn't often for her to display that much happiness, which was why I couldn't take my eyes off of the picture. The joyful scene was adorable; her love for cash and probably anything else expensive was so silly. As my anger began to subside it was replaced by guilt; I felt bad for making her so upset. I was going to have to apologize the next time I got the chance.

"You should forget about her, John. She's none of your concern," The person from earlier said, though I didn't look around. I knew he was still in my head. Ignoring him, I left the room to see if I could find something to do. "She'll only be a burden to you," He continued. "She'll only hold you back." Still I didn't acknowledge that he was speaking to me; I wasn't even sure if he was real. After taking a convenient elevator to the next floor I looked around for anything interesting, and then proceeded toward a long hall. "How do you know she even cares about you, hmm?" He asked, making me stop. "Maybe she's just using you."

I couldn't ignore his words anymore; I had to consider the possibilty that I was just a pawn to Princess. There didn't seem to be a good reason why she was letting me stay at her hotel, which worried me, but there also wasn't really anything she could gain from using me. "You're wrong," I unintentionally said out loud after deciding that it couldn't be true.

"Am I? Tell me, do you know what Princess is doing right now?" He asked, and I was surprised that he could hear me. Before I could answer I was surrounded by a cloud of red dust that came from seemingly nowhere. I quickly put my guard up, unable to see anything around me.

"What is this?" I demanded, constantly looking around for anything hostile.

"You're about to see what your little _friend _is up to." Immediately after he finished that sentence a large screen landed in front of me, cracking the ground quite a bit. I stared cautiously at the thin material, remaining a good distance away. After a while an image appeared on it, and it wasn't what I wanted to see. It showed burning and destroyed buildings, people fleeing for their lives, and debris occasionally crashing to the ground. I stared at the destruction, obviously surprised, then gasped when the view shifted to Princess and the Powerpuff Girls fighting. But after remembering that Princess was a villain a good amount of my shock disappeared, though I still didn't like what she was doing.

For a while I just watched the battle, stepping closer to get a better look. Every attack they threw at each other made me feel slightly worse. It was my fault this was happening; I caused Princess to get angry and take it out on the town. Then realization hit me; it wasn't Townsville she was after, it was the Powerpuff Girls. I thought she just really didn't like them, but it was apparently worse than that. Both times I mentioned them to her she lost her temper and hurled something at me. She despised them personally...but why?

Before I could try to figure it out my eyes widened when Princess was knocked out of the sky. As she crashed into the ground, battered and dazed, her opponents slowly approached her. I was worried; she had lost the battle and I wasn't sure what they were going to do to her. Suddenly, the screen went black and I could no longer see what was happening. "Hey, turn it back on!" I shouted, banging my fist against it once.

"She's going to be arrested just like any other criminal," The mysterious man said, still refusing to show himself to me. "Don't you get it? That's why she's helping you, John Camon, so you'll bust her out of jail whenever she gets caught." His voice went dark at the last word, and I couldn't help but see the logic in what he said. Unfortunately, it made sense...I wanted to break her out, but was that all part of her plan? I was conflicted; Princess was the only person I considered a friend, but was it fake the whole time?

_No, it can't be... _I thought, remembering the happy picture of her I saw. I didn't believe Princess was a bad person, and wasn't going to believe that she was using me without real proof. "Listen, whoever you are," I said, looking around. "You're wrong about Princess. I haven't known her for that long but I know there's some good in her. I don't care what you say, I'm going to help her." There was a moment of silence as he seemed to be planning his next move.

"Fine..." He finally said. "If that's how you feel I guess I'll just have to teach you a lesson, won't I?" The ground began to shake, but I couldn't see the cause of it because of the red dust. Then, without warning, I was roughly knocked onto my stomach by an unknown force. Rolling over, I was shocked to see a large creature that resembled a triceratops.

"What the?" It released a small roar before attempting to trample me, but I stopped its front feet with my hands. It was heavy, but I was able to flip it onto its back. However, in an instant it was up again.

"Are you enjoying playing with my little pet?" The voice in my head asked a bit enthusiastically. "His name is Rex, and he just loves to remove people's flesh." I shuddered when the voice went evil at the end, dashing at Rex and grabbing his horns. He fought to push me back, but I used my extra fists to strike his face. After the third punch he stumbled back, allowing me to tackle him and force him to the ground. I hit him a few more times, but then he swung his head and cut my chest. Ignoring the stinging pain, I got the creature in a headlock and forced him up. He growled in protest and fought against my grip, managing to stab my stomach with one of his horns. I groaned loudly, already fed up with Rex.

With all of my strength, I hurled him several feet away from me. Then, not wasting a second, I aimed my hand straight at him and watched as it was covered with untamed energy. Before Rex could even get up I sent it all straight at him, engulfing him in unimaginable destruction. The brightness of the attack forced me to look away for a moment. By the time it was over I was surprised to see that he wasn't there anymore. Had I disintegrated him? I quickly looked around to make sure he was really gone.

"Fine, John," The voice said, a bit happier than I expected. "If you won't take my word for it, go ahead and try to rescue Princess; see what happens." At that moment the red dust disappeared, revealing that I was standing right in front of the hotel's exit, which was wide open. I was a bit hesitant about what I was about to do. I would have to fight my way to the jail, break Princess out, then fight my way back to the hotel without being followed. It was risky, but as I thought about Princess sitting alone in a cold cell I knew it had to be done.

Sighing slightly, I rushed outside. I was going to have to do this as quickly as possible.

To Be Continued...


End file.
